Thinking about defecting (but not like funsdead!) -Looooonnnnggggg
03-17-2004, 01:40 AM
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Thinking about defecting (but not like funsdead!) -Looooonnnnggggg
Well, after buying an apartment and a car for my wife things were not looking too encouraging in regards to my own daily driver much less an S2000. Having been away for 7 years our local credit history is not what it used to be. Not that it was ever 'AAA', but it is almost non existent now. FYI: Your credit history does NOT follow you from contry to country.
Feeling a little drepressed, I resigned myself to a) having to get a job
(hey, I'd been on 'voluntary' vacation since Dec 31st ...) and b)driving a 4 year old Insight (they have really bad resale value here), a stripped down econo-box or a beaten up family sedan. In any case I was confronted by the fact that buying another s2000 wasn't really not going to happen for a good 4 years or more.
If that sounds like the whinging of a spoiled rotten softie, it most certainly is!
I should be thankful that I still have my health, youth and handsome good looks 
correct?
Then I got a job offer yesterday so I decided to visit a few dealerships and see what I could afford . I did some research on the net before going so I had an idea of what I liked on paper.
The good news is that I can actually afford to buy a new car. The bad news is that the S2000 is still at least 3 years away.
I was rooting for the used Insight because the MY00s ar going for about 1/3 of the price and they don't seem to have been driven much (less than 10k miles) according to the ads. I had one in Raleigh for almost 4 years and absolutely loved it. The fact that they cheap now and cost pennies to run would allow me to save up for an S2000 (in my head at least). However, they are cheap but rare so I started looking at alterntives.
The Civic hybrid was the first choice. But having driven one in Raleigh I was not as impressed as I was with the Insight. The Pruis was the next choice, I liked it about the same as the Civic for different reasons but they are about $7k more expensive than the Civic Hybrids here. The rest of the options were not as appealing as the fuel consumption did not get any better than 34 MPG. This is a big deal for me as I am going to be driving 60 miles/day (from one side of the city to the other and back) at the end of peak hour (one good thing about the job is that I start at 10 am ). There was only one other car that really caught my interest:
The Smart Roadster
www.smart.com
Fuel consumption is an advertised 45 MPG combined city/highway with an expected 50 MPG highway. That is just about the same as the Prius and a little better than the Civic Hybrid.
I went for a test drive and I just fell in love with it!
1. It is a roadster!
2. It is only a 3 cyl/700cc engine but it is TURBOCHARGED!! I pushed it hard on the test drive and the little three banger gave me an ear to ear grin that I only ever got with the S2000
(The salesman asked me to please, please not mention out loud how fast we went on the freeway 
)
3. At 1700 pounds and 82HP it is a little slow off the starting line but once the turbo kicks in it just flies.
4. The interior is slightly of the 'cheap plastic' kind but so was the Insight's. A couple of accessories like dash inserts, new shift knob and maybe purple neon dash lights (or fuzzy dice) can have it looking like a million bucks!
5. The suspension is really stiff (more than the S2000's) and it just looks and drives like a go-kart on steroids. What better car to help me cope with the boring 1:15 minute drive each way?
6. It is really a Mercedes! so I would actually be upgrading rather than downgrading
The downside is that it costs a good $10k+ more than the Hybrid Civic so if I got it I would be bidding farewell to any hopes of getting another S for the foreeseable future. However, a sign that this may be a good choice is that while I was on the test drive my wife started talking to a 60someting couple that were looking at the one in the showroom. They told her that since they never had kids they got into the habit of buying a new sports car every couple of years. They had owned 70+ sports cars and convertibles and had decided this would be the next one, they are just waiting for their current car (Masserati) to sell!. I figure there must be something special about the car if they are interested.
So there you have it: I may just have found a replacement for the Insight and the S2000 in this little roadster. Sure, It will never be a 'real' sports car and may be a POS at the track (I will be testing that!
) but at half the price of an S2000, being so much fun and so economical to run it may just be what I will be driving for the next 5+ years.
BTW: I put a deposit for a red one. They did not have one with all the options I wanted and have yet to approve the lease (5 years 40% residual) so there is a chance it may not happen.
Feeling a little drepressed, I resigned myself to a) having to get a job
(hey, I'd been on 'voluntary' vacation since Dec 31st ...) and b)driving a 4 year old Insight (they have really bad resale value here), a stripped down econo-box or a beaten up family sedan. In any case I was confronted by the fact that buying another s2000 wasn't really not going to happen for a good 4 years or more.If that sounds like the whinging of a spoiled rotten softie, it most certainly is!
I should be thankful that I still have my health, youth and handsome good looks correct?Then I got a job offer yesterday so I decided to visit a few dealerships and see what I could afford . I did some research on the net before going so I had an idea of what I liked on paper.
The good news is that I can actually afford to buy a new car. The bad news is that the S2000 is still at least 3 years away.
I was rooting for the used Insight because the MY00s ar going for about 1/3 of the price and they don't seem to have been driven much (less than 10k miles) according to the ads. I had one in Raleigh for almost 4 years and absolutely loved it. The fact that they cheap now and cost pennies to run would allow me to save up for an S2000 (in my head at least). However, they are cheap but rare so I started looking at alterntives.
The Civic hybrid was the first choice. But having driven one in Raleigh I was not as impressed as I was with the Insight. The Pruis was the next choice, I liked it about the same as the Civic for different reasons but they are about $7k more expensive than the Civic Hybrids here. The rest of the options were not as appealing as the fuel consumption did not get any better than 34 MPG. This is a big deal for me as I am going to be driving 60 miles/day (from one side of the city to the other and back) at the end of peak hour (one good thing about the job is that I start at 10 am
). There was only one other car that really caught my interest:The Smart Roadster
www.smart.comFuel consumption is an advertised 45 MPG combined city/highway with an expected 50 MPG highway. That is just about the same as the Prius and a little better than the Civic Hybrid.
I went for a test drive and I just fell in love with it!
1. It is a roadster!
2. It is only a 3 cyl/700cc engine but it is TURBOCHARGED!! I pushed it hard on the test drive and the little three banger gave me an ear to ear grin that I only ever got with the S2000
(The salesman asked me to please, please not mention out loud how fast we went on the freeway )3. At 1700 pounds and 82HP it is a little slow off the starting line but once the turbo kicks in it just flies.
4. The interior is slightly of the 'cheap plastic' kind but so was the Insight's. A couple of accessories like dash inserts, new shift knob and maybe purple neon dash lights (or fuzzy dice) can have it looking like a million bucks!
5. The suspension is really stiff (more than the S2000's) and it just looks and drives like a go-kart on steroids. What better car to help me cope with the boring 1:15 minute drive each way?
6. It is really a Mercedes! so I would actually be upgrading rather than downgrading
The downside is that it costs a good $10k+ more than the Hybrid Civic so if I got it I would be bidding farewell to any hopes of getting another S for the foreeseable future. However, a sign that this may be a good choice is that while I was on the test drive my wife started talking to a 60someting couple that were looking at the one in the showroom. They told her that since they never had kids they got into the habit of buying a new sports car every couple of years. They had owned 70+ sports cars and convertibles and had decided this would be the next one, they are just waiting for their current car (Masserati) to sell!. I figure there must be something special about the car if they are interested.
So there you have it: I may just have found a replacement for the Insight and the S2000 in this little roadster. Sure, It will never be a 'real' sports car and may be a POS at the track (I will be testing that!
) but at half the price of an S2000, being so much fun and so economical to run it may just be what I will be driving for the next 5+ years.BTW: I put a deposit for a red one. They did not have one with all the options I wanted and have yet to approve the lease (5 years 40% residual) so there is a chance it may not happen.
03-17-2004, 05:49 AM
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Dood,
That's a "cute" car.
I know, I'm a smarty pants (get it).
Seriously, that thing looks like just the ticket for you. I see they're going to enter our market in '06. I may have to pick one up for local commuting.
That's a "cute" car.
I know, I'm a smarty pants (get it).
Seriously, that thing looks like just the ticket for you. I see they're going to enter our market in '06. I may have to pick one up for local commuting.
And at 1700 pounds, it ought to be pretty tossable! 
03-17-2004, 07:53 AM
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Make sure you go for the optional bug deflector!
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/03/17...t.ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/03/17...t.ap/index.html
03-17-2004, 10:45 AM
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Originally posted by MyBad
I see they're going to enter our market in '06. I may have to pick one up for local commuting.
I see they're going to enter our market in '06. I may have to pick one up for local commuting.
Now, that one will be one heck of a track car!
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03-19-2004, 11:03 AM
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OK, the deal is done. They approved the finance with $1000 down. The interest is a killer at over 13% but I should be able to convert it to a home equity loan in a couple of months (once the deed on the apartment is registered). That should bring it down to 7-9%.
I pick it up on Sunday afternoon..
BTW it is Red with the Black roll hoop, red on black interior (cloth).
I pick it up on Sunday afternoon..
BTW it is Red with the Black roll hoop, red on black interior (cloth).
